Bethlehem IESI Landfill

Complaints Regarding Odor or Other Issues:
Lower Saucon Township encourages its residents to report complaints regarding odors, noise, or other issues related to the IESI Bethlehem Landfill directly to the PA Department of Environmental Protection. The PA DEP maintains a log of complaints received which are followed-up on by their staff.

If odors are detected, individuals should call the PA DEP (toll free) Complaint Line at (866) 255-5158. Press "2" to be directed to the Northeast Regional Office complaint representative/answering service.

If a gas odor (natural gas, landfill gas) is detected in someone's home or along Applebutter Road/Ringhoffer Road/Steel City area, individuals should immediately call 911. Emergency personnel will contact the PA DEP if their assistance is needed.

Additionally, IESI Bethlehem Landfill maintains a Community Hotline for residents, which you can also phone to report complaints about odors or other issues directly to their staff. You can call them after hours and weekends at 610-317-3200, Option #4 – you will then receive a call back from Landfill Management.

Mobile Analytical Unit (MAU) report generated by PA DEP Bureau of Labs as a result of the event that was completed in June 2015. The report includes raw data and does not include any interpretation of the data that was collected. This report has been forwarded to the PA Dept. of Health and ATSDR to assist them in their public health evaluation. Click here to see the reports.

Letter dated 12-22-16 from the PA Dept. of Health regarding the environmental exposure study that has been completed.
Click here to see the report.

Landfill Committee

Per the Host Agreement between the IESI Bethlehem Landfill, located on Applebutter Road in the Township, and Lower Saucon Township, "IESI and the Township shall continue to participate in the Lower Saucon Township Landfill Committee ("Landfill Committee") to monitor and review the operation of the Landfill. The Landfill Committee shall consist of two IESI representatives and two residents from the Township. The Landfill Committee shall meet monthly or at such other intervals as mutually agreed upon by the Landfill Committee members, and shall have the discretion to set its own meeting schedules and administrative procedures as the Landfill Committee deems necessary. The Landfill Committee shall be authorized and requested to periodically monitor the Landfill operation and provide reports on the Landfill operation to IESI and to the Township. The Landfill Committee also shall be required and empowered to receive, review and report on Landfill related complaints. The Landfill Committee shall be advisory only, and shall have no legal authority to bind either IESI or the Township. The Landfill Committee meetings shall be held within the Township and open to the Township, and/or its designees and Township residents to attend. IESI will provide reasonable, escorted access to the Landfill and property owned by the City over which IESI has an easement to the members of the Landfill Committee and to the Township, and/or its designees."

The Landfill Committee also consists of:

Haz Hijazi, P.E.

Neil Ortwein

Christopher Taylor, P.G., Township Host Municipal Inspector

Priscilla deLeon, Council Liaison

Nick Rogers, IESI Bethlehem Landfill Environmental Compliance Manager

Landfill Committee Meetings

The Landfill Committee meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at the Council Meeting Room at Lower Saucon Township located at 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem.

You can review a copy of the current meeting minutes by clicking on any active meeting date in our table below.

01-23-18: See FERC Notice of Application for the Adelphia Pipeline. The notice provides that the persons wanting to obtain legal status by becoming a party to FERC's proceeding must file a motion to intervene by February 13, 2018. FERC will accept environmental comments from non-intervenors, but such person would be unable to challenge FERC's decision no matter what it may be. Click here to read more.

12-15-2017: Adelphia Gateway Project announced the successful conclusion of its binding open season with bids exceeding more than double the initial offered capacity and terms up to 20 years. Click here to read more.

PennEast Pipeline Updates

04-23-18: On Tuesday, May 8, 2018 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at Easton Area Public Library, a panel of five attorneys will discuss how affected landowners and their supporters can protect their rights regarding FERC's approval of the PennEast Pipeline, and where to go from here. Click here find out more information.

03-16-18: The following was submitted to FERC, Washington, D.C. - Request for rehearing or appeal of February 22, 2018 Order of the Commission's Tolling Order of Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Click here see the document on the FERC website.

03-16-18: The following was submitted to FERC, Washington, D.C. - Homeowners Against Land Takings - PennEast, Inc. [HALT] submits notice of its Petition for Review of FERC's 1/19/18 Certificate Order and 2/22/18 Tolling Order in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Click here see the document on the FERC website.

02-20-18: FERC's acknowledgement of the acceptance of Lower Saucon Township's Request for Rehearing and for Stay for filing. The FERC Office of the Secretary has accepted the electronic submission for filing [Acceptance for filing does not constitute approval of any application or self-certifying notice]. Click here see the document on the FERC website.

01-29-18: Order Issuing Certificates for PennEast Pipeline. Click here see the document.

01-19-18: Two Commissioners issued separate concurring statements recognizing the problems with access to property for surveys and with the limited evidence of need for the project. Click here to read the statements from Commissioners Cheryl LaFleur and Neil Chatterjee. One Commissioner actually dissented from the decision to approve the project. Click here to read the statement from Commissioner Richard Glick.

09-07-16: DEP will be taking additional comments for the PennEast Pipeline until September 26, 2016. Click here to share your comments via the FERC e-comment process.

07-27-16: Feds set six public meetings on the pipeline report so the public can comment on the PennEast project's impact. There will be a meeting in Bethlehem on August 15, 2016 at Best Western Lehigh Valley Conference Center at 300 Gateway Drive from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. to collect verbal comments on the draft document. No presentation will be given by FERC. Verbal comments will be recorded by stenographers in one-on-one settings and transcriptions will be placed into the docket for the project. Click here to share your comments via the FERC e-comment process or click here to go to the PennEast pipeline website. Click here to read the newspaper article.

05-12-16: Please read the letter written by Manager, Leslie Huhn, to Kimberly Bose at FERC regarding the Incompleteness Review Letters from different townships. Click here to read more.

05-04-16: Please read the letter from PA DEP regarding the Incompletedness Review on the PennEast Pipeline Project. Click here to see more.

03-30-16: Please read the update for landowners on the pipeline route. Click here to see more.

03-14-16: Please read the email from PennEast Pipeline regarding Cathodic Testing and the Township's response to their email. Click here to read the email.

03-08-16: The Township requested PennEast to deliver a presentation at a Township Council meeting on the proposed pipeline. PennEast said they are unavailable to participate in the Township's meeting. Please click here to read the letter.

02-25-15: The DEP presented the final report of the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force to Governor Wolf, which identified a dozen top recommendations, along with a broader set of 184 suggestions, to help PA achieve responsible development of natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the Commonwealth. Click here to see more.

10-15-15: On October 15 and October 19, hear from impacted landowners and come and learn more about how the PennEast Pipeline could impact you. Please click here to see the flyer. Read the article on coalitions launching a campaign to educate and unite the PA Communities impacted by the PennEast Pipeline. Please click here to read the article.

10-12-15: PennEast Pipeline provided an updated map for the entire route on September 30, 2015 and indicated that the overall alignment of the route has been adjusted within the 400 foot survey corridor to avoid and/or minimize impacts to wetlands and water bodies, cultural resources, agricultural lands and other sensitive habitats. In addition, they indicated that there have also been adjustments to the project route due to the finalization of valve locations. To view this map, please click here.

08-20-15: Memo from Charles Elliott, regarding a brief update on the PennEast Pipeline project activities over the last sixty days. Please click here to read more.

08-13-15: Letter sent from Lower Saucon Township to FERC regarding the impact of the proposed PennEast Pipeline route on Bethlehem Authority Water Supply in Carbon County, PA. Please click here to read more.

08-12-2015: A coalition of concerned citizens against the pipeline and numerous other non-profit organizations are presenting "Stop PennEast Pipeline" march across the river. Click here for more information.

06-25-15: There will be surveyors from Hatch Mott McDonald in the area of I-78 and Easton Road on Saturday, June 27, 2015 surveying the corridor along the highway and road only for the PennEast Pipeline project.

06-09-15: At the request of the Lower Saucon Township Council, Solicitor Charles Elliott was directed to send a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Please click here to read the letter.

06-01-15: Penn State Extension will be holding a workshop on June 10, 2015 "Making Sense of Natural Gas Pipelines and Right-of-Way Agreements". Please click here to read more.

04-21-15: Lower Saucon Township's submission to the U.S. Inspector General regarding selection of Tetra-Tech as 3rd party general contractor. Please click here to read more.

04-01-15: PennEast engineers have revised and refined portions of the proposed route based on additional feedback from numerous stakeholders. Please click here to read more.

03-17-15: PennEast has filed a response to FERC regarding the scoping comments. Click here to view the document.

01-22-15: Lower Saucon Township Council approved Resolution No. 32-2015 at their January 21, 2015 Council meeting opposing the construction of the proposed PennEast Pipeline through Lower Saucon Township. Please click here to read the resolution

01-16-15: PennEast Pipeline continues to evaluate route options throughout FERC's review process. The interactive mapping tool was updated and reflects the survey corridor associated with the current preferred alternative route. Please click here to read the article and see the link to direct you to the revised interactive mapping tool.

11-26-14: PennEast Pipeline provided various maps for Lower Saucon Township regarding the proposed pipeline. Click here to see the map of the Township showing the new route on the east side of SR33 and Lehigh River crossing. Click here to see the map of the Township with environmental features overlaid. Click here to see the map of the area showing any geological faults.

11-05-14: PennEast Pipeline Company has developed an interactive mapping tool to assist landowners, neighbors and community leaders. Click here to read the letter from Alisa Harris from PennEast Pipeline Company.

10-24-14: PennEast Pipeline Company invites you to their open houses to provide you with accurate information on the proposed pipeline. Click here to find out the date and where the open houses will take place.

10-09-14: The following message was received from the PennEast Pipe project representatives on October 8, 2014:

Dear Community Leader,
On October 7, 2014, PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC, submitted its formal request to initiate pre-filing review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The application is the first step in requesting FERC certificate approval for the proposed pipeline. PennEast Pipeline is not required to use the comprehensive, multi-step FERC pre-filing review process; however, PennEast chose to request pre-filing in order to work cooperatively with the FERC staff on the technical engineering and environmental aspects of the project before a formal application is submitted.

The pre-filing process creates the framework for the environmental analysis required of the location, design and permitting for construction of the proposed natural gas pipeline. Pre-filing also includes a formal structure for stakeholders along the proposed route to provide input and opinions regarding the proposed PennEast Pipeline.

If approved for the pre-filing process, FERC will assign the PennEast Pipeline Project a docket number (Note: FERC Docket Number: Click here and then click on "File List" to view documents submitted with filing) and PennEast will share the docket number through its website and news release. Once a docket number is assigned, FERC will accept public comment regarding the proposal. PennEast anticipates beginning the process of submitting project documents to FERC by the end of October and plans to complete pre-filing and file a formal application in spring 2015.

Alisa E. Harris PennEast Pipeline Government and Community Affairs

UGI LNG Project - City of Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board Updates

3-23-18: UGI LNG Project - Final Land Development Plans. Click here to see the plans.

08-23-17: UGI Energy Services Notice of Right of Appeal for Storage Tanks on Ringhoffer Road. Click here to read more.

MS4 Updates

3-26-18: Public participation is an essential part of the Pollution Reduction Plan (PRP) because it enhances buy-in from residents, business owners, and landowners that may have an impact on pollution discharges, can uncover missing elements or errors in calculations, and builds cooperative partnerships among the Township and other entities. Click here to see the PRP.